Facebook trends of 2010 include “HMU,” World Cup and Bieber

14 Dec 2010

The top trends of 2010 keep rolling in, with Facebook reporting on the most common topics seen on status updates, with, surprisingly, the acronym “HMU” (hit me up) taking the top spot.

HMU took the No 1 spot, and Facebook noted that while in early 2009 the term was “virtually unheard of,” by May it grew slowly to 20 posts a day. By the end of that year, it rose to 1,600 a day and in the summer of 2010 it received a whopping 80,000 mentions a day.

In early September, Facebook noticed the term became more frequent at weekends, when people used it to ask others to do something with them during this free time.

The second most common trend was the World Cup, which took place in the summer of this year. Facebook noted that the start of the games and the finals got the most attention, gaining 1.5 million and 1.3 million mentions respectively.

Movies and tech

Movies in general came third on the list, with Toy Story 3 taking the top spot. They noted that, right after the first showing of the movie, mobile updates in regards to that topic spiked, as people were talking about it as soon as they left the theatre. Updates from computers spiked about a half an hour later, giving other users a chance to go home first before they brought it up on Facebook.

The second most talked-about film was The Twilight Saga: Eclipse followed by Inception.

In fourth was the iPad and iPhone 4, becoming the most talked-about tech on Facebook. The gadgets drew more than 25 million status updates containing “bragging, lusting or the occasional condemning” over 2010.

Haiti

Fifth was the Haiti earthquake, which was the most talked about major news event on Facebook. The first reports of the earthquake came from the nearby Dominican Republic after feeling it from a distance.

The posts peaked four minutes after the quake at a rate of 120 a minute. After a few hours, when it became known globally, it peaked at 1,800 posts a minute.

Bieber fever and social gaming

Pop star Justin Bieber came sixth, with the MTV Video Music Awards bringing about the most mentions of the young star. He is the only musician on the list. Surprisingly, Lady Gaga doesn’t get a mention.

In at No 7, and showing their rising popularity, were status updates regarding games on Facebook. The biggest trending phrase was “barn raising” thanks to FarmVille introducing a barn-raising feature in January. FrontierVille, which was launched in June, also saw growth in mentions.

Chilean miner rescue

In eighth was “Mineros” or “Miners,” referring to the 33 Chilean miners who were trapped for 69 days before being rescued.

Facebook saw three specific bursts of activity. One happened only in Chile in August, when the mine first collapsed and contact was lost with the miners. The second was seen a week later when they were found alive, encouraging more global discussion, though it was still mostly in Chile.

The third burst was seen on their rescue, when millions talked about it. Facebook even saw 33 “unique spikes of activity” for every miner rescued.

Airplanes and the coming year

At No 9 was Airplanes, more becoming a trend due to the song of the same name by B.O.B. than just a general reference to the vehicle. Facebook noted that people used the lyric “can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars” to share their own wish.

The year 2011 took the No 10 spot, with Facebook reporting that people referred to the coming year to look forward to future events. As the year approaches, mentions have been increasing, as plans become more solid for 2011.